A lot of people, including me, have never been comfortable with the “Wife-Material” tag. The reasons are quite glaring. When an average Nigerian calls you a wife material, they mean that you are a perfect definition of society’s stereotypical woman. They see you as someone who is living a script, not necessarily as someone whose personality they admire, but someone who would fit into the descriptions of someone else’s future demands. Wife material, in the view of many, is a measure of how domesticated a woman is. It seems that is all a woman entails as if women should fit into a box the society has designed for…
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Changing Gender Stereotypes taught in School
From childhood, many people unconsciously start learning stereotypes (a widely-held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing). It starts with the illustrations in our primary school textbooks. A doctor is usually a man and a nurse a woman. A bank manager is typically a man, and the secretary or cleaner is a woman. At such a young age, these pictures and words create lasting impressions that, in some cases, are never shattered. This is why many people assume that any woman in a white ensemble in a hospital is a nurse. It doesn’t matter if she is the one in the consulting…
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Men Picking Up The Gauntlets 3!!!
As a gender advocate, I have had people ask me what about advocating for men. They ask: “Isn’t gender equality all about gender balance? Why am I always throwing the spotlight on women or highlighting women’s issues.” I smile and tell them that I speak about girl child and women issues because I have first-hand experience of a lot of the things I talk about. As a woman, I know what it means to live in a patriarchal society. I know to a large extent, the power those stereotypes can wield over people’s perceptions. That is why I am fighting really hard to change them in our girls’/women’s minds and…
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Amazons – Precious Gaza
The month of March is Women’s history month – a month dedicated to celebrating women who have contributed or are currently contributing their quota to gender equality, the betterment of humanity and to the society. Today, I would like to shine my spotlight on Precious Gaza, an International relations graduate, an emotional intelligence coach and, a girl child education advocate. In this piece she bares it all giving us an insight into how advocacy has been for her as a Nigerian woman. She talks about how she started advocacy, and the challenges so far. She also tells us what inspired her to become an emotional intelligence coach and how life…
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World Poetry Day – Celebrating Womanhood
Give me a voice, one that I can call mine Let me bring out my colours from in deep within my mind like a flowering flower springing new petals. I only ask for a choice to be who I am without the tethers of gender hurting around my tender neck. Give me a life, a chance, to crave for and seek the cradle of wisdom like the river seeking the sea. I want to learn to fight without a hand tied behind my back with the chains of culture, what should change that stayed constant. For I am a light, hidden by the curtains of doubt. Yet, none can douse…
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The Power of Equal Representation
THE POWER OF EQUAL REPRESENTATION Imagine attending a meeting with another firm only to discover all the representatives of such a firm are males. As a 21st-century human, it should get you thinking: “Is it that they don’t have women in this organization?” I have had a series of discussions with people regarding this and many people say that of course they would love more women on board but not at the detriment of competence. I understand correctly. I always reply that I am not a fan of incompetence or mediocrity. Still, I have observed that many times, people organize programs without female speakers or facilitators. It makes one wonder…
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International Women’s Day 2020- Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights for an Equal Future
Every year, March 8 marks the International Women’s Day. A day set aside by the United Nations to celebrate women and advocate women’s rights and gender equality. This year’s theme is Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights for an equal future. This year we are choosing to be that generation that finally realized or achieves gender equality by giving women their due diligence. We finally recognize that women’s rights are also human rights and therefore matter equally. To be able to think this way, we have to truly understand what gender equality is. Gender equality is not sameness in biology or physiology. (This is the fallacious assertion that some people point…
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International Women’s Day Event 2020
The international women’s day which comes up on the 8th of March every year was commemorated today 5th of March 2020 with a program at Abadina College, UI. The program was tagged, “Generation equality: realizing women’s right for an equal future.” The program was majorly geared towards enlightening and broadening the scope of understanding of Secondary school students as regards gender equality and also bringing it into reality. The program was facilitated by two distinguished people; Deborah Adeojo and Daniel Akinyemi, who took their time to painstakingly teach the students what they need to know about gender equality. The facilitators were also able to unteach and debunk some erroneous beliefs…
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MEN PICKING UP THE GAUNTLETS 2!!!
As a gender advocate, people have come up to me to ask why I don’t advocate for men. I tell them that my advocacy has always been based on my reality. By my reality, I mean the issues I know about (by through experience and by virtue of reading stories, books and articles) and the issues I can easily relate to as a person. I am female and I believe that it is actually easier for people to be passionate about something they have a vast or an in-depth knowledge about. But although my own advocacy is not usually centred or focused on men, I am quick to applaud and…
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International Women’s Day 2020 Loading 80 Percent
March 8 is International Women’s Day. We will be using the opportunity to engage the students of Abadina College, Ibadan on the theme of Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights for an equal future. This is also another opportunity to challenge stereotypes, call for inclusion, amplify women’s voices and to celebrate women. We shall be celebrating all women living beyond limitations, holding up, making an impact, influencing the world, leading positively, motivating the world, transforming lives, standing tall, aiming high, breaking stereotypes, shattering glass ceilings, breaking through concrete walls, striding on sticky floors and escaping career labyrinths. Host: Roseline Adebimpe Adewuyi Speakers: Daniel Akinyemi and Deborah Adeojo Coordinators: Rebecca Bolatito-John and…
